I Can't Help It

"I Can't Help It"
Single by Bananarama
from the album Wow!
B-side	Ecstasy
Released	December 1987
Format	7" single, 12" single
Recorded	January 1987
Genre	Pop, Dance
Length	3:32
Label	London Records
Writer(s)	Matt Aitken, Sarah Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Mike Stock, Pete Waterman, Keren Woodward
Producer	Stock Aitken Waterman
Bananarama singles chronology
"Love in the First Degree" (1987) "I Can't Help It" (1987) "I Want You Back" (1988)

For Betty Carter album, see I Can't Help It (album).

For Michael Jackson song, see Off the Wall (album).

"I Can't Help It" is a song written and recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It is included on their fourth studio album Wow! and was released as its third single except in the U.S., where it was the album's second single (following "I Heard a Rumour") and Australia, where it was the album's fourth single (after "I Want You Back"). The track was co-written and produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) trio.

The song is a disco-influenced pop tune similar to many hits produced by SAW during this time period

The single peaked at number twenty in the UK singles chart, #27 on the Australian ARIA chart (where it was released in August 1988 after I Want You Back), and just missed the top-forty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. A hit in nightclubs, "I Can't Help It" climbed to number seven on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart.

This is the final Bananarama single to feature Siobhan Fahey, who announced her departure shortly after its release.

The photos on the record sleeve were taken by famous American photographer Herb Ritts. The record sleeves for "I Can't Help It" and "Love in the First Degree" were switched with each other for the UK and North American markets.

Music video

The song's suggestive lyrics and music video further perpetuated Bananarama's sensual visual image that the group began to incorporate with their previous album True Confessions.

The "I Can't Help It" video featured muscle men dancing, colourful backdrops, and Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward in a milk bath filled with fruit and naked men. Siobhan Fahey, heavily pregnant at the time, also appears but was only shown on camera from the shoulders up. Music video directed by Andy Morahan.

Track Listings

7" single NANA 15

1. "I Can't Help It" 3:31
2. "Ecstasy" 4:10

   S. Dallin/S. Fahey/K. Woodward/M. Stock/M. Aitken/P. Waterman

2nd 7" single NAN 15

1. "I Can't Help It" 3:31
2. "Ecstasy" (Edit) 2:00
3. "Love in the First Degree" 3:29

12" single NANX 15

1. "I Can't Help It" (Extended Club Mix) 8:03
2. "Ecstasy" (Chicago House Stylee) 5:56

2nd 12" single NANXR 15

1. "I Can't Help It" (The "Hammond Version" Excursion) 6:24

   Remixed by Pete Hammond

2. "Ecstasy" (Wild Style) 5:35

   Remixed by Pete Hammond

UK CD single NANCD 15

1. "I Can't Help It" (Extended Club Mix) 8:03
2. "Ecstasy" (Chicago House Stylee - Single Version) 4:10
3. "Love in the First Degree" (Rare Groove Mix) 6:00

US/Canada 12" single 886 212-1 / LDSX243 + Cassette LDSXC243

1. "I Can't Help It" (Extended Club Mix) 8:03
2. "I Can't Help It" 3:36
3. "Mr Sleaze" (Rare Groove Remix) 6:02

   S. Dallin/S. Fahey/K. Woodward/M. Stock/M. Aitken/P. Waterman

4. "Mr Sleaze" (Instrumental) 4:12

Other versions

1. "I Can't Help It" (Club Mix Edit)

   Only found in video

Personnel

Bananarama

• Sara Dallin - Vocals
• Siobhan Fahey - Vocals
• Keren Woodward - Vocals

Additional Personnel

• Andrew Biscomb - Sleeve Design
• Peter Barrett - Sleeve Design
• Herb Ritts - Photography

Charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	20
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	47
U.S. Hot Dance Club Play	7
Australia ARIA singles	27
Spain singles chart	22
Dutch Singles chart	30